Angels We Have Heard on High
by Beemishbeliever
Summary: Kelly plans a holiday gathering, but events don't turn out exactly as she expects. This is a Christmas story and as such may have some religious undertones.


Disclaimer: Charlie's Angels are the property of Spelling Goldberg. This story is meant solely for entertainment. I claim only the right to the plot and characters I have created.

The winnowy flakes that gently drifted to the ground. Prince Edward Island was not known for its hospitable climate at this time of year. Even so, Kelly Garrett was enjoying the weather and the way it enhanced the season. Christmas was only a few days away and there was still much to be done. In all her life she couldn't remember a time when had more eagerly anticipated Christmas. It had been over a year since she had been charged with murder and eventually cleared. During that time, she had been reunited with the son she hadn't known since birth.*

In an even more extraordinary turn of events, her son had fallen in love with one of her dearest friends. Recently, they had gotten engaged, and Kelly had decided to throw a party. Since there would be time over the holidays for everyone to get together, she had decided to hold the party then. Kyle and Tiffany lived on P.E.I. throughout the year, and Kelly had a cottage there. Kelly's friends were coming in from all over the world. Jill was flying in from Morocco to meet Kris in California, and then the two of them would fly in tonight. Sabrina would arrive Christmas Eve from New York, and Sean would be back from Toronto tomorrow.

Kelly enjoyed the preparation for an event such as this, and she was almost ready for this one. She would pick up Kris and Jill tonight, they would then stay with her. Sabrina was planning on getting a flight from New York to Montreal and then from Montreal to Moncton, New Brunswick. She would then rent a car and drive up because the flights to the Charlottetown airport were booked. She would be staying with Tiffany. Kelly was quite pleased with herself. She had found the perfect gifts for everyone, and now all she had to do was finish picking up some food for the party.

She looked down at her watch and realized she was running later than she thought. She only had a little over an hour to get to the airport to pick up, Jill and Kris. She decided to cut out the stop at home that she was originally going to make, and head directly to the airport. As it turns out, it was a good thing, she had gotten there a little early as Kris and Jill's plane arrived about ten minutes ahead of schedule. When they got off the plane, Kelly came over and gave each of them a hug.

"I'm so glad that both of you could make it," she said enthusiastically.

"You really have to fill me in, Kel, Kris is telling me some fantastic stories about you."

"Aw come on now, Jill, you wouldn't believe Kris. You know she's just making up lies about me."

"My little sister lie, she'd never think of it," Jill said laughing.

"Hey, you two, could you refrain from ganging up on me already."

"I'm sorry Kris, I suppose I do have a lot of explaining to do," Kelly replied.

"So is Sabrina here yet?" Kris asked as they headed for the luggage carousel.

"No, she can't get away until Christmas Eve, but she should be here that evening.

It was a fun ride home as Jill told them about her adventures across Europe, and Kris relayed some amusing home anecdotes. As they pulled into the drive, Kelly was relaying the story of her murder arrest and how that had reconnected her with her son. It was still hard for her to talk about it, but luckily Kris had filled in Jill enough that she didn't have to go through all the details. The remainder of the night was spent finishing up the small details of getting ready for the party.

The next day was colder than the one before and heavy snows were predicted for that evening. Kelly began to worry about Sabrina's chances of making it in that night. At least with the bridge, she wouldn't have to worry about her taking the ferry which probably wouldn't run anyways if the weather turned bad. Kelly glanced at her watch, it was nearly two when the phone rang.

"Hey my plane just landed in Moncton, and I've already picked up my rental car, so I should be there in another three hours or so." Sabrina said in a hurried tone.

"Great we'll be looking for you then. Be careful, there's supposed to be bad weather on the way."

"Well you wouldn't have guessed it from the weather around here, it's really bright and sunny."

"I guess you should get going then and enjoy it while it lasts." Kelly encouraged

"See you in a little while."

"Bye" Kelly she said a little absently, her mind thinking of a hundred things at once.

Kelly returned to her preparations for the party. Jill and Kris had decided to go shopping and maybe pick up a few additional gifts. Someone knocked at the door and Kelly wondered who it could be, for it couldn't be Sabrina unless her car grew wings.

As it turned out, it was Sean who had come over a bit early to see if he could help her with anything. She hadn't seen him in awhile, he was now working in Toronto for Charlie who had decided to open an office in Canada.

"So how's the detective biz," Kelly questioned him.

"It's been going pretty well, Toronto can be a crazy place. Although a few weeks ago, I actually was working in Dallas with one of your former partners, Julie Rogers."

"How is Julie, I haven't seen her in a long time."

"She's good, she's really pretty tough."

"I know, I was on the opposite end of some of her toughness from time to time."

The phone rang again and Kelly went to answer it.

"Kelly, it's Sabrina, I can't take the bridge, I guess there was a pretty bad accident, and it actually did some structural damage to it, so they have closed it indefinitely."

"Aw," Kelly said obviously discouraged.

"I think I found another way to get there though. Since the weather isn't to bad right now, I'm going to try the ferry. The guy wasn't really that interested, but let's just say some quick American dollars have convinced him that this might not be such a bad thing to do."

"I don't know, Bri the weather here is starting to kick up a little."

"Well it's only an hour long trip, so I think we can squeeze it in before it gets bad."

"All right, but if it starts to kick up, turn back."

"Don't worry, just let me get going and I'll be there before you know it."

"Do you need us to pick you up?"

"Yes, I'm so glad you asked, yeah he said he couldn't take the car, so if you could pick me up at Charlottetown harbor in say an hour and a half."

"We'll be there, have a safe trip."

"Thanks."

"Hey Sean do you want to go into town with me in about an hour, I have to pick up Sabrina.

"Sure," he replied with a bit more enthusiasm than Kelly had really wanted.

Kris and Jill were still out when it was time for them to leave, but Tiffany had come over and so Kelly had explained everything to her. Tiffany also said she would be more than happy to serve as hostess until Kelly's return. 

The snow had changed from the white, fluffy flakes of the day before to the little ice pellets that stung when they hit their mark. Kelly looked out over the ocean as she got into the car and noticed that it was much more turbulent now, than it was even a half hour ago. Hopefully, Sabrina was almost into shore.

The trip to the harbor took longer than usual because of the weather, but Kelly felt relieved as she saw a ferry boat docked near the harbor entrance. They walked up to the harbormaster's office and entered. 

"Hello, I was just wondering if any boats had come in recently?" She asked the round, little fellow sitting behind the desk.

"No I'm sorry no more ships are being permitted to leave for the next few hours."

"Well the boat I'm looking for should be arriving now, not departing." Kelly said trying to make herself clear to him.

"Where was it leaving from?" He asked.

"I'm not positive, but I think Summerside, New Brunswick."

"Yes that was the last boat we gave clearance to leave, and it was a mistake."

"A mistake, how so?" Kelly asked concern rising in her voice.

"He had some motor trouble, he radioed in and then we sent out one of our ships to find him, but when they found the boat, it had capsized and there was no sign of anyone aboard. It was so bad out there that we had to call the rescue crew back in. There just wasn't any point in jeopardizing their lives to save people who probably are already gone." He said grimly.

It took a minute for the words to sink in. At first, Kelly's disbelief would not allow her to accept what had just been said. "When the boat was located, it had capsized, and there was no sign of anyone. Under even the best conditions this was really a hopeless situation, under these conditions there really was no chance for survival." The harbormaster's words repeated in her head. Kelly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure. Surely there must have been a mistake, tomorrow she would wake up and this would not have happened. Maybe Sabrina had decided to stay back after all, and she would be calling soon. She looked up at the harbormaster, and thanked him for his time, she knew this must not have been easy for him, it being Christmas Eve and all. Then she turned and walked slowly to the door. Sean spoke to the harbormaster for a few minutes more then went out to where Kelly was standing. 

"Maybe I should drive," he said concerned.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Kelly said handing him the keys to the car.

They got into the car pulled away. The storm had continued to increase in intensity, the winds swirled the snow around so continuously, that it was hard to tell how much was really coming down. The temperatures were fast approaching zero, but Kelly was oblivious to the cold. Kelly sat enveloped in the cold stillness searching for, but not finding any words. Sean too struggled to think of something to say. He wondered how the others would react to the news. It was such a tragic event that would forever overshadow Tiffany and Kyle's wedding.

Kelly's mind was as active as her speech and movements were inactive. Memories of Sabrina and the adventures they had shared together were mixed with the admiration and desperation she was now feeling. She would not have been surprised if one of them had been killed, by some vengeful convict they had sent to prison. This, however, was harder to take because there was no reason to it. It was random, and for some reason, Kelly had always believed that chance was on her side. She was convinced that they would always come out ahead if they stuck together, and that fate had given them a special dispensation from such random acts. Yet, now fate had made a cruel blow to what she held most dear, and death would always be with her. As they turned in the drive, Kelly wondered what she would say, and if she could really say the words that she needed to.

Sean opened the door to the house, which was filled with chatter, the fire glowed warmly, and it appeared like the picture on a Christmas card. Kelly followed Sean in and immediately the room got quiet. The two new arrivals had a decidedly somber demeanor about them.

"Where's Sabrina?" Jill asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"She wasn't at the harbor," Kelly replied distantly

"What do you mean?" Kris asked.

"I mean that the boat she was on, never made it into the harbor."

"Well, do they have a search party out, looking for it?" Tiffany responded.

"They found the boat capsized, with no one aboard." Kelly answered

"Well, maybe they got on a life raft, or maybe Sabrina wasn't on the boat." Kris asked hopefully.

"There were witnesses who saw her get on, and the life raft was still with the boat." Sean spoke up.

"I'm really sorry about this," Kelly said with a catch in her voice. "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

"Sure, Kel" Tiffany replied quietly.

With that Kelly went to the back of the house and walked outside the door. The cold air stung her ears, and she wasn't sure if it was the cold or what she was feeling inside that was making her eyes tear up. She felt a dull emptiness that seemed to reach to the depths of her soul. Never had she felt such a loss. Then as she looked out upon the sea, the sea which had taken her friend's life, and in its rage and fury she realized the smallness of herself and those around her. She had fought against the forces of nature, but now she was reconciled that she like the tumultuous sea, was just a part in a more universal plan. Fighting against it was futile.

She closed her eyes, and the dark coldness no longer held her. The memory of a summer day, years before when she, Jill and Sabrina had gone for a picnic. The sea that day was crystal blue, and lapped lazily at the beach. Jill had been reading some trashy, romance novel, she had been daydreaming, and Sabrina had brought along Shakespeare's sonnets. Sabrina claimed that she didn't have time to read garbage because there was already too much well written material to be read. Later in the day, she came up to Jill and Kelly with two sheets of paper, marked with Shakespeare's thirtieth sonnet. 

"I think this would be a good way to be remembered." She said as she handed them to Kelly and Jill.

Jill looked over the lines, politely nodded and went off somewhere.

Kelly read them that day, and had kept that piece of paper ever since. It had been both a comfort and a reminder of a special day in her life. Now as she thought of Sabrina, the words came back to her.

"When to the sessions of sweet silent thought.

I summoned up remembrance of things past, 

I sign the lack of many a thing I sought,

And with old woes new wail my dear times' waste:

Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,

For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,

And weep afresh loves' long since canceled woe,

And moan the expense of many a vanished sight:

Then can I grieve at grievances forgone, 

And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er

The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan, 

Which I new pay as if not paid before.

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,

All losses are restor'd and sorrows end."

Kyle came up behind her and startled her. 

"I'm sorry to bother you," he said. "We were all getting worried about you, it's too cold to be out here."

He put his arms around her and held her close. 

"I'm so sorry," he said and they turned and walked back to the house.

The room was quieter now than before, everyone was speaking in hushed tones.

Kelly still could not bring herself to join in, but instead sat by the fire sipping tea. Jill had taken over as hostess making sure that everyone had a beverage or food if that's what they wanted. Kelly was grateful for this and knew that the others must be feeling their own grief. She looked at her watch and saw that it was nearly 11:00.

"I'd like to go to church," she said aloud, but almost to herself.

"That might not be a bad idea," Kris responded.

"The roads aren't really that great," countered Sean.

"I just want to go," Kelly said. "I can't explain it, but I really feel as though I need to do this."

"All right, the cathedral has midnight Mass, do you want to go there," Kyle asked.

"Yes, I think that would be just right." Kelly said contemplatively. 

Kyle had a large SUV, and so they all went together. With the weather conditions as they were and the roads more difficult to navigate than usual, the trip into Charlottetown took almost an hour. They arrived just before the start of Mass, and were lucky enough to find seats together near the back of St. Dunstan's Cathedral. The cathedral itself was a darkly, Gothic structure with majestic pillars reaching to the ornate ceiling above. Kelly had loved this church with its darkly, rich colors, and religious pompousness. Modern churches, she felt were lacking the proper reverence. The atmosphere within the church was one of jubilation and celebration. It didn't exactly match the mood Kelly was in, but it did give her a sense of hope which for the last few hours was something she thought she'd never feel again. The bishop's homily was a good one, and under most circumstances, Kelly would have been appreciative of it. When Mass was finally over, she and the others walked to the front of the church, and as Kelly knelt before the manger, she felt something she had never felt before. A sense of healing and peace came over her, and she prayed with a renewed sense of hope. As she got up, she looked at the others and said, "I know that Sabrina is all right." The others glanced quickly around at one another, not knowing how to respond. Finally, Sean came over to her and said, "You've had a long day, it's getting late, we'll straighten out things in the morning."

But Kelly was vehement, "I'm not crazy, I just know that she's all right."

"Fine, but it's time to go home, there's nothing more you can do." Sean became sterner.

"He's right Kelly, we all need some rest." Jill replied.

They headed back to Kelly's and decided that it would probably be best to all stay there, that night. Whether it was the lateness of the hour, or the heaviness of heart, they all fell asleep rather quickly. When mornings light first came in, no one was yet awake.

It was still Christmas, and when they all awoke, they exchanged the gifts they had bought for one another. It was not quite the moment they had once thought it would be, but in some ways each gift meant a bit more. Kelly made breakfast and they all ate quietly. About half way through the meal, there was a knock at the door. Kyle answered it. There were two police officers, standing outside. Kelly came in from the kitchen to see who was there.

"Good morning, we're sorry to disturb you this morning, but the harbormaster gave us your address. Is there a Kelly Garrett at this address?"

"Yes, that's me," Kelly replied.

"The harbormaster said that you were the ones who were looking for a Miss Sabrina Duncan last night. Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you, some of her personal effects washed up on shore this morning. Her purse and its contents are down at the station, after her nearest relative is contacted, we can release it to them. As I understand it, you are not related, but friends."

"Yes, that's right we're not blood relations."

"Would you be able to give me the information as to who, her next of kin may be?"

"Her father, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. I should have called him last night, but I just couldn't do it." Kelly said disheartened.

"Well if you just give us his name, we'll take it from there."

" Retired Colonel Richard Blaylock, Kelly said writing down the name and number." 

"Thank you, we'll let you know if we can reach him, or if we need any further assistance."

"Officer, nothing else turned up?" Kris asked as she came into the room.

"No on a wild night, like last night it isn't likely to. I'm sorry for having to bring this kind of news to you." With that he and his partner walked through the door and down the stairs.

The rest of the day was spent quietly trying to figure out what to do. Sabrina had little family, and Kelly knew that her dad hadn't been in the best of health. This was going to be very difficult for him. Kelly who had gained so much hope the night before, was now beginning to sink back into the reality that Sabrina was gone.

Kelly couldn't stand just sitting around anymore.

"I'm going to take a walk she announced," as she grabbed her coat and headed for the door.

"Do you want some company," Sean asked.

"No, I think I'd rather be alone for awhile."

The air was still cold, but the sun was shining brightly. The snow was undisturbed for miles, and its whiteness made all the world seem new. How happy she had been only a few days before. Her world had finally been righted, and now it was thrown into chaos again.

She headed down an untrodden path that led to a little inlet harbor. Lobster traps were piled high to the side, and a couple of small fishing boats were docked nearby. The water was nearly frozen, but there were breaks throughout.

"Hey what are you doin down there," came a voice from above. The man had an accent. It was a typical Maritimes accent falling somewhere between a Scottish brogue, and Canadian English.

"I'm sorry, I was just taking a walk, I really didn't realize I had wondered onto your property."

"Tis O.K." He said walking towards her. "I just couldn't believe someone would be walking in weather as cold as this."

"I guess I just needed some fresh air, really I do apologize for bothering you."

"It's no bother, would you like to come in, and have some tea and warm up."

"That's very kind of you, but really I have to get back to my friends."

"So you do have someone to spend Christmas with?"

"Well yes, why did you think I didn't?"

"It's an awful cold day, and you look awful sad, so I just assumed it was because you were all alone."

"No, I'm afraid I just had some bad news recently, and it made me rather sad."

"I'm sorry to hear that, do you need a ride back to your house?"

"I didn't think so a few minutes ago, but you know what I am feeling a bit chilled, would you mind?"

"No, come with me, my truck's at the top over here."

Kelly followed him up the hill, and got into the truck.

"So I take it you're a fisherman," she said.

"I guess so, I've been trying to get out of that line of work for some time, but it always seems to call me back. I even went out last night, even thought the winds were kicking up that old ocean quite a bit."

"Why would you do that?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure why I went out last night, but as it turned out, I'm glad I did."

"Why is that, a big catch?" Kelly queried.

"You could say that." He said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?

"I actually managed to pull in two people last night. They weren't actually in the water. I was out near the seal island last night, when I saw another boat, they were having a harder time than me. I think their engine stopped on em. I lost sight of them for awhile and then I saw them again, washed up on the beach. I pulled in near as I could and dropped anchor. I wasn't sure they were even still alive. The water was so cold that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stand it. When I finally reached them, they were both alive. The gent was in a little better shape, he could walk to the boat, and I managed to drag the lady on board. I was heading for Charlottetown harbor, but I couldn't make it, so I head a little further east and landed at Dartmouth. I managed to flag someone down who took us to a hospital. They were a little banged up, but at least they were alive."

"What did the woman look like?" Kelly asked astonishedly.

"Fairly thin, dark hair, can't really give you much more than that."

"What hospital did you take them to?" Kelly asked hopefully.

"St. Anne's."

As they approached the drive, Kelly almost leaped from the car.

"Thank you so much, this has been such a big help to me."

"It was nothing really, always glad to give someone a hand."

"By the way, what's your name?"

"It's Joshua."

"Thank you, Joshua, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"Oh, I think I do," he said with a smile as he drove off down the road.

Kelly ran up the stairs and flung open the door.

"I think I know where Sabrina is," she announced delightedly.

The whole room just looked at her with skepticism.

"What are you talking about?" Sean asked.

"I talked to a fisherman, who said he pulled two people out of the water last night, and he took them to St. Anne's Hospital."

"Kelly, I don't think that you have been drinking, but maybe the strain of all this is starting to get to you. Do you want me to call a doctor?" Sean queried.

"I have not been drinking, but this guy just told me this."

"What kind of lunatic would have gone out in that last night?" Kyle replied trying to reason with her.

"I don't know if he's a lunatic or not, but if we don't go to that hospital right now, you are going to see your very own raving lunatic."

"It can't hurt to go check," Jill replied.

"Why can't we just call?" Sean asked.

"Because that will not be good enough for her," came Kris's reply.

Kelly had to laugh, sometimes her temper did get the best of her.

"Can we all discuss this as we drive," she asked.

So they got into the car and headed off towards the hospital.

When they arrived, Kelly was the first one out the door and heading for the front desk.

"Excuse me," she said trying to get the rather plain woman's attention.

"Yes," the woman looked up wearily.

"Was anyone brought into the hospital last night, for hypothermia, or that had been pulled from the ocean?"

"I wouldn't know, I did not work last night, and we don't have patients listed by their ailments."

"Is there anyone here now, who was working last night?"

"I suppose there is, but I wouldn't know who they were," came the annoyed reply.

"Look lady, I'm sorry you have to work Christmas, I know it must suck, but think about the overtime and pretend that you actually give a damn about your job. If not, I'm going to make a big scene, and the easy day you once envisioned will be all gone."

By this time the others had reached the counter, and had heard Kelly's comment.

"I'm sorry Miss, she's had a real tough day, and..." Kyle's voice trailed off as he saw Kelly head towards the doors to the emergency room.

"Kelly wait," Jill and Kris followed after her.

"I'm going to check every room in this hospital until I find her." Kelly stated defiantly.

"You can't do that." Sean said coming up behind her.

"Watch me," she said turning and looking at him.

"I promise that if she isn't here, that I will drop all of this and never bring it up again."

"Wait right there," a voice unfamiliar to her boomed loudly. "Where do you think you are going?"

Kelly turned around and saw the security guard looking sternly at her.

"Look, I'm just trying to find of friend of mine, with a little help, I could do that without disturbing anyone."

"The nurse at the front desk said you were being unruly."

"If you were concerned about someone you cared about, wouldn't you try to do everything you could for them?"

"Of course, but what exactly are you having trouble with?"

"I was told that my friend was brought here last night, she was pulled from the ocean and was probably suffering from hypothermia."

"I was here last night, when they brought her in."

"She didn't have any i.d. on her, so there was no one we could contact."

"Do you know where she is now?"

"I'm not sure, but I can find out for you."

He walked over to a computer screen and searched through the records of all the emergencies that had been brought in the night before.

"Yes, here she is Room 325."

"Thank you," Kelly said trying to be calm.

They took the elevator to the third floor and followed and amazing maze of hallways until they all stood before the door of Room 325. For a moment, Kelly hesitated before entering the room. What if she were wrong? What if it wasn't Sabrina? 

When she walked through the door, she saw an elderly woman eating her dinner. Kelly's heart sank for a moment. Then she looked at the other bed, where she saw Sabrina lying there sleeping quietly. A wave of emotions came over her, and she looked back at the others. They were all smiling, and Sean was looking a little sheepish for his lack of faith in her. None of that mattered anymore. They were all together. A nurse entered the room, and told them that there could only be three visitors at a time so Kris, Jill and Kelly stayed while the others walked down to the end of the hall to wait.

"How is she?" Jill asked the nurse.

"Very lucky to be alive, from what I hear," the nurse replied. "She hasn't been awake yet."

As if on cue, Sabrina began to move around, and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey what's going on?" She asked groggily.

"You went for a boat ride, and then a swim." Kelly responded.

"Gee, remind me to get my money back for that trip."

"All I remember is the boat being tossed around, and then everything kind of goes blank from there. Except I seem to remember, someone putting me on another boat and wrapping me in a blanket, but it really is all a blur to me."

"Yes, a fisherman happened to come upon you, or I'm afraid we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." Kelly explained.

"How long have I been here?" Sabrina asked.

"Just since last night." Jill answered.

"So it's Christmas Day then?" She said trying to get a grasp on how much time had actually passed.

"Yes, pretty late in the day, but at least you made an appearance. We were really worried about you, Bri," Kelly said quietly.

"I'm sorry, I probably should have stayed back in New Brunswick, but I knew that this was going to be a special Christmas for you, and I really didn't want to miss it. Besides when we set out, it wasn't all that bad, the storm really came up quick."

"We're all glad, that you are all right." Kris said cheerily. "It was quite a harrowing night."

"I'll have to take you over to meet the fisherman, who got you out of the water. He seemed like a really nice guy." Kelly told her.

"Yes, I would like to meet him, I guess I owe quite a debt to him."

"I think we all do." Kelly responded. "I think the others may want to see you for a minute or two, then we should probably let you get some rest."

Kelly bent down to give her a hug, and whispered, "Don't ever do that to me again, I don't think I could handle it."

"I promise, I will avoid situations which put my life in peril," Sabrina responded trying to sound convincing.

With that all three of them walked out of the room, and down the hall to get the others. Hospitals were generally not jovial places on holidays, but for everyone in that group, this was the best present they could have received.

A few days later, Kelly arrived at St. Anne's to pick up Sabrina. After a couple of days of observation and some treatments for an infection she had caught, Sabrina was feeling surprisingly good. The doctors had suggested that she get some rest over the next few days and that she shouldn't do any significant traveling for at least a week. Her employer back in New York wasn't going to be happy about the additional time off, but she wasn't going to push her luck, for at least a little while. Kelly was there promptly, which had surprised Sabrina a bit, since Kelly was almost never on time, unless it was for something important.

"Would you like to go to lunch?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah, sure I'm feeling pretty good, and I can't say I really have enjoyed the gourmet cuisine here."

"That just shows that you shouldn't go around getting yourself into predicaments that land you in the hospital."

"Well, it's not like I go around looking for this."

"I know, it's just this time was very scary for everyone, we really thought you were gone." Kelly said, her voice trailing off.

"No you weren't that lucky." Sabrina said with a laugh.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

"I agree, I have definitely seen my share of game shows over the last few days, I think I've filled my quota for the remainder of my life." Sabrina replied happy to be leaving. 

They had lunch at a little Italian restaurant, about half way between Kelly's house and the hospital.

"Try the lobster pizza," Kelly advised.

"I don't think so, lobster is all right, but it isn't meant to be on a pizza."

"Have you tried it?" Kelly asked.

"Obviously not, or I would have never questioned the validity of lobster on a pizza. Do they really serve lobster at every restaurant on this island? I'm surprised that Cows Ice Cream place doesn't have a lobster flavored sorbet or something." 

"Well, to be honest the lobster is really good, but some of the other things are really not. Steaks are definitely lacking and the squirrel is only marginally good." Kelly said, amused by the look that she had managed to get from Sabrina by the comment.

"Squirrel huh, I see." Sabrina said rolling her eyes.

"Yes, a truly Canadian delicacy."

Finally the waitress came to take their order, and Kelly ordered the lobster pizza, and Sabrina asked without a hint of jest in her voice if they had squirrel pizza. The waitress was not in a joking mood and tersely replied that they didn't.

"Well, then I guess I'll just go for the pepperoni." Sabrina replied and handed her the menu.

As the waitress walked away, Kelly and Sabrina could no longer stifle their giggles, and they laughed heartily over the silly moment they had just orchestrated.

Lunch turned out surprisingly well considering, they were sure the waitress wanted to poison them. They continued to make comments from time to time, but as they left they made sure to leave her a good tip, since she had actually put up with their antics in reasonably good spirits.

As they headed towards Kelly's house, Sabrina asked if they might stop by the fisherman's house. Kelly thought it was a good idea and headed down the road to the little inlet harbor. She drove to the spot and stopped the car. The harbor was frozen completely solid, there were no signs of boats, lobster traps, or anything else for that matter. The house, itself, was even gone. 

"Kelly, why are we stopping here," Sabrina asked.

"Because this is where he lived."

"Kel, there's nothing here."

"I know, but I'm sure this is the place. The road dead ends a little further up ahead, and only walked a short distance from my house that day."

"Well maybe you weren't really thinking clearly, and you just don't remember exactly."

"No I can prove that this is the place, those footprints down that path are mine, I'd be willing to bet on it."

"Well let's go check, they walked down towards the path; the imprint was the same as the shoe Kelly had on."

"Were you the only one down here?" Sabrina asked her.

"No he came down here with me."

"There aren't any other footprints but yours."

"I know, this is so weird."

"Now Kelly don't go off on one of your weird unexplained phenomenon tangents. There is a logical explanation for this." Sabrina said as she saw the look in her friend's eye.

"No, there isn't, and you know it. You know who it was just as much as I do. You may have known it longer, because you've been intrigued by him ever since this happened. There was something different about him, and you couldn't logically figure it out. So you had to see for yourself where he lived, and you figured that would put an end to it. But it didn't." Kelly replied trying to counter Sabrina's arguments before she made them.

"I told you I'm not going to buy into some half baked religious hysteria that you are trying to cook up."

"Then Sabrina, explain it to me logically. Look at what happened and explain it all away."

"You walked down there alone, you returned alone, and so that's why there are only your footprints. You were under stress and so you may have imagined it."

"That doesn't explain how I ended up finding you at the hospital."

"Well where else do you look for someone that might be injured, I just can't figure out what took you so long to look there."

"All right then who pulled you out of the water?"

"Some crazy, good natured guy who happened to be in the area." Sabrina found herself responding, but realizing that this particular argument was weak.

"I know you think I'm nuts, but I knew after Mass when I knelt down to pray, that you were all right. I even told the others. They thought I was crazy, but it turned out to be true. Now this is a something that even you can't just ignore."

"And why can't I?"

"Because he changed your life that night, the same way he did mine." Kelly responded.

"Kelly, I can't change who I've been my whole life for a set of circumstances which are a little difficult to explain. I mean how do I know you didn't make all this up, just to convince me to get a little religion in my old age."

"Sabrina do you honestly think I made this up? I mean, how could I have? If God can't even sway your stubborness, how could I?"

"Let's just say you're right, what do I do about it?"

"Do what he wants you to do, because he obviously still has some work for you to do."

"I need some time to think about this."

"No you don't need time to think about it, you need time to accept it. He must care about you a lot, to have gone to all this trouble, I wouldn't turn my back on him now." Kelly encouraged.

"Maybe he did it for you."

"He did it for the both of us. It was our Christmas miracle. Now we need to go out and be better people than we were before. I know that we have been given second chances and we should take advantage of them."

"I just can't believe anything like this would happen to someone like me."

"Sometimes we get so caught up in all the other things of life that we ignore the awe in life. Maybe some of us need to be hit over the head a little harder than others to see it."

"I will think about it, that's all I can promise you, Kel. I just don't know what to make of it. Sabrina replied.

"I think that's why you got another chance, he didn't want you to miss all the great things he has to offer you. He also knew that I would have missed you terribly, and that maybe I needed a miracle to reinforce my own faith. I'll never forget this Christmas because it showed me the true value of faith and friendship."

They had reached the top of the path, and decided to head home. They didn't talk much about what had happened, but both knew that the events of those few days had changed their lives, making each day just a little more meaningful.

*See Full Circle for the full story


End file.
